The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) felt there was nothing wrong with police questioning pupils of SK Seri Pristana while a social activist and two lawmakers described the police's action as "unprofessional and insensitive".
In defending the cops, NUTP president Hashim Adnan said police just wanted to know the truth.
"There was no harm done as the children were not put in a dark room or threatened.
"They just wanted to get to the bottom of the issue, and since adults can sometimes not give the real account, the best way was to ask the pupils, who only know how to tell the truth," he said.
Seri Pristana became embroiled in this controversy about a month ago when a concerned parent, Guneswari Kelly, uploaded photographs of children having their recess meals in the school's shower room during the fasting month.
Following that incident, 18 police reports were lodged against the school and its headmaster while the school replied with four reports of its own, claiming that the headmaster and several teachers were threatened.
It was then reported that the headmaster allowed policemen into the school to interview several pupils over the reports. This angered parents who claimed that their children were traumatised after being questioned by police.
Police had earlier denied that they spoke to the pupils but yesterday admitted they did speak to the children after getting the headmaster's approval.
Social analyst Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria felt that police should not have questioned the pupils without the presence of their parents as this would have been alarming to the children.
"You do not want to criminalise and instil negativity in a child. It needed a more human approach," he said.
He said at this point the education department needed to step in and find a speedy resolution that would be accepted by all, including the parents and school authorities.
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok felt police should apologise to the parents.
"How could they be so unprofessional and insensitive not to understand how primary school children will react to being interviewed by police?
"Their explanation that the pupils were 'interviewed' and 'not interrogated' is weak and unacceptable," she added.
Kok also urged the authorities to provide counselling to the pupils as they would have been traumatised.
She also took Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to task for not stepping in immediately when the issue was highlighted.
"The minister, his officials and the school kept quiet when Guneswari Kelly transferred her daughter out of SK Seri Pristana to a Tamil school. Now the problem has escalated," said Kok.
She warned that the issue could turn into a racial problem as the children who were picked on and bullied were from one race.
MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel expressed his disappointment with the police
"How can they question the pupils? Would the children know how to answer the questions?" he asked.
Palanivel said he will bring this matter up with Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh and his deputy P. Kamalanathan.
"This is a major problem which is really worrying," he said, adding that he will also be raising the issue at the next Cabinet meeting.
Following these latest developments at the school in Sungai Buloh, at least three non-Muslim pupils were transferred to other schools by their parents. Ten others are set to follow suit.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.